


Melting the Darkness in Shirakage Mouse’s Heart

by TheDormantYankofPeace



Category: Danger Mouse (Cartoon 2015)
Genre: Babysitting, Cousin, Depression, Drama, F/M, Fire, Friendship, Humor, New Flatmate, Stubborn, courting, hardcase - Freeform, hardened heart, unimpressed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26271877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDormantYankofPeace/pseuds/TheDormantYankofPeace
Summary: Jeopardy Mouse has requested Danger Mouse to offer up his Danger Flat's guest bed room to her yearling foster cousin. Penfold has heard about this scary "Professor Shirakage Mouse", and goes into a panic. Even the American government can't deal with her moody attitude. Can Danger Mouse succeed in conquering this latest mission? And is Prof. Squawkencluck becoming Shirakage's BFF?





	1. To Be Announced

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Summer 2018: I did promise that I would post this story that I had mentioned about in one of my journals after I had returned home from AnimeNext weekend earlier. Sorry if the fanfiction cover picture is just a temporary prototype at the moment. It was all I could create under short notice, due to very low alcohol levels in my brain chemistry, and crucial story plot details that I’ve taken from the beginning of the Reboot DM episode, “Agent 58”.

**Melting the Darkness in Shirakage Mouse’s Heart**

“Chief,” Penfold began crossly at Danger Mouse in the kitchen. “I believe it’s best that you don’t program the Danger Flat’s laser guns to activate in all of the bedrooms, for your personal Saturday morning alarm and workout session.” He also pointed to his charred self. “And I don’t think it’s fair that your best friend or the other Danger Agents should get dragged into the reality of having their beds be set on fire too.”

But the grinning white mouse agent waved a dismissive and confident hand to the hamster in spectacles. “Nonsense, Penfold. Aside from the fact that the Secret Service has to buy new mattresses for HQ every Sunday, I really don’t see a reason why the rest of my fellow agents should sleep in safely, except for me alone.”

Suddenly, Colonel K’s hologram popped up in front of the two inseparable rodents.

“Ah, DM. Had a good Saturday morning workout before breakfast again? Well, you two better eat up. I’m assigning you a very crucial mission, on behalf of a special request.” The chinchilla then averted his gaze and frowned. “Or was it an urgent favor...?” Deciding to ignore his scatterbrained memory, he resumed discussing the matter politely again. “Well, anyway, Jeopardy Mouse needs your help, DM.”

Danger Mouse’s eye widened as his face lit up happily. “Ha! We’ll be on our way to New York soon, Colonel. What’s the disaster? Hydrant? Quark? Prof. Ham Hams?”

Colonel K answered with a pleasant smirk. “Actually, DM... Jeopardy Mouse will be arriving here to _our_ HQ to deliver the mission to you personally.”

DM furrowed his brow in confusion. “Huh...?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **“BABYSITTING!!?”** He argued in utter disbelief at his American rival agent on the settee. **“My mission is to babysit your foster cousin, Jeopardy Mouse!!?”**

The brown furred purple haired mouse rolled her eyes at him, as if his outrage wasn’t bothering her in the slightest. “Trust me. If I had it my way, you would be the last _thing_ on this planet that I’d offer this mission to.

“But it’s not like my cousin’s a child, Danger Mouse,” she retorted defensively. “Another reason for her to be in London is for her new job offer in the city. She’s an excellent scientist with three majors in Psychology, Botany, and Chemistry. And I’m sure Professor Squawkencluck won’t have any opposition in letting Prof. Shirakage Mouse bunk here with you.”

DM rolled his eyes and sighed. “Good Grief. Just what we need: A boffin studied mouse to nerd out with Squawk.”

Penfold, however, gasped in fear as he melodramatically placed his paws to his specks. “Jeopardy Mouse, your foster cousin is _The_ Prof. Shirakage Mouse...!? As in, ‘the brilliantly smart, but devilishly tempered Japanese Tailed White Mouse, whose draconian, wicked sense of humor made her notorious enough for the world to ban her from ever becoming a Secret Agent for Japan’, Prof. Shirakage Mouse!!?”

Jeopardy Mouse deadpanned. “Yeah. That’s her, Penfold.”

He went into a terrified panic. “Aw, Crumbs! Not her!! I sometimes wonder how her temperamental reputation hasn’t branded her as a villain by the world yet!!”

“‘Shirakage...’” DM mulled over the name. “Doesn’t her name mean ‘White Shadow’ in Japanese? And how on Earth is a rare breed of white mice related to your family, Jeopardy?”

JM fiddled with her phone while answering. “My Auntie and Uncle were on vacation in Japan. They were staying in a rural town’s small resort hotel at the time, when an earthquake struck a nearby village. They found an orphaned infant in the rubble, but the birth parents weren’t so lucky in escaping Death.” She then held up her phone’s screen, showing DM a picture of her and a black haired white furred mouse with a tail, smiling at each other as little kids.

“Awww~~~!!💕” Danger Mouse and Penfold cooed over the 7 year old kids on the phone. “She’s about your age then, Jeopardy?” Penfold beamed kindly.

The American spy nodded with a clouded face. “She was cute when we were children. But not anymore. Shirakage attended Boot Camp with me every summer. And she signed up for the most extreme classes in Weapon’s and Martial Art’s Combat. By the time she reached her teenage years, my cousin’s moody glares were scaring a lot of people. But that satisfied her enough so that she wouldn’t use her hidden assassination skills on the innocent.”

Danger Mouse and Penfold paled in terror. “Uh,” DM smiled nervously. “Did I hear you right, Jeopardy? Surely, you didn’t say that your yearling cousin had been trained to kill her targets, aie?”

A chill swept through the sitting room as JM shook her head. “She _can_ kill, Danger Mouse,” she replied darkly. “That’s why she chose a career in the field of Science when the world forbade her to become a secret agent for her birth country. You don’t know her like I do. And it’s also _because_ of her creepy attitude that the American government has made it a top priority for you to treat her well in Great Britain.”

Penfold gasped. “Oh, carrots!! Why is Prof. Shirakage Mouse scaring the Yanks for!!?”

Jeopardy Mouse glanced away, a hint of regret stayed in her gaze. “Our politics in the States has gotten kind of...” she hesitated for a moment to find the appropriate word in her sentence. “...complicated lately. My cousin has never appreciated over the historical facts of how divided the world’s nations have been amongst each other, due to violence and corruption.

“Regardless of your nation’s Brexit dilemma, Danger Mouse, Shirakage Mouse believes that the current changes in America is getting worse by destroying trust and the diplomatic bridges it shared with its neighboring allies. And the chaos in Washington is affecting her mood swings and emotions.

“So, to get straight to the point, Shirakage’s not doing too well in America. And needs to be employed here in Britain where her head may cool down ASAP.”

DM smirked. “Ha! It sounds more like she needs a change in scenery. And she’s probably uptight because she hasn’t traveled the world as much as us, Jeopardy.”

Penfold narrowed his specks at his cocky best friend. “Chief, you’re so oblivious to Jeopardy’s ruthless cousin that you’ve never even bothered to look into her data profile or Science articles.”

“Don’t worry, Penfold,” he assured confidently. “I’m sure I’ll know what I’ll be dealing with when I get my first look at the American raised Mouse boffin.” He then turned back to his rival. “So when exactly will this so called ‘Scary Shirakage Mouse’ be arriving at HQ, Jeopardy?”

“Oh, I’d say about...” JM paused nonchalantly before concluding bluntly. “...now.”

“‘ _Now_ ’!?” DM and Penfold repeated simultaneously in disbelief.

“Now,” she repeated as the electronic door to the stairs slid open, revealing an ecstatic Prof. Squawkencluck gushing around the bored, pouty newcomer.

Danger Mouse’s eye widened in gaping awe, as he saw the tailed white mouse’s stunning sapphire blue eyes. Not only was she wearing a feminine outfit. But her attitude portrayed a sense of rebellion against fancy high heeled shoes; the sneakers below her high knee sock leggings was evidently clear to anyone who would have seen her.

Her eyes had a hardened gaze on her face. And a tight lipped sneer implied to DM that she seemed a bit displeased within her surroundings; yet the funny thought in his head was that Shirakage made her surly expression seem a little more cute.

“Cor!” Penfold breathed at the fully grown female cousin of JM. “Professor Shirakage Mouse sure does look a lot prettier than I imagined her to be in person. I’m really glad she’s not scary cross. Right, Chief?”

He turned to his best friend, only to find the WGSA missing from his spot in between Jeopardy and Said confused cowardly hamster. “Chief...?” He repeated, wondering where he’d gone off to.

A scowling Jeopardy Mouse tapped Penfold’s shoulder and pointed to the center of the room by the door. The British secret agent mouse had already bowed and kneeled before his assigned client.

“Ohayo Gozaimasu, Madam Shirakage Mouse,” he greeted her suavely as his courtesy expressed a stud fueled grin on his face. “I understand you’re new in Town.”

Penfold and Jeopardy both rolled their eyes and groaned simultaneously, “Oh, Good Grief!!”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“You’re unbelievable, Danger Mouse!” Jeopardy groaned. “My cousin just met you, and you’re _already_ hitting on her!?”

Shirakage stood between her two packed suitcases. Arms folded and averting her miffed gaze to her right, she continued to quietly ignore the English Mouse’s stare.

“Don’t lose your knickers, Jeopardy,” DM smiled calmly. “Nobody falls in love with someone at first sight...especially secret agents on bodyguard duty.”

Penfold peeked his head out from the settee’s lift. He, DM and Jeopardy were comfortably sitting on the sofa. But Shirakage didn’t move from her spot outside of the lift’s diameter. When her glaring gaze suddenly made contact with Penfold’s, the hamster squeaked and cowered into a ball from her line of sight. “Oh, Eck!”

Jeopardy Mouse sighed and turned to her Japanese foster cousin. “Shirakage, I told you to not glare at my friends when we were riding my Robo Ravens on the way here. Did you forget that Danger Mouse’s best friend, Penfold can get scared easily?”

A shivering Penfold peeked out to look at the now crouching female white mouse. Her glare had softened to look more stoic and expressionless. He continued to shiver as she unzipped one of her bags to fetch a small box.

Shirakage held out the box towards Penfold and opened the lid, revealing a Bento lunch dish of fried chicken filled rice balls.

“Here,” she offered gently without emotion in her tone. “A token of my apologies, Penfold-San.”

Penfold beamed happily at the Japanese meal, as if nothing had scared him in the first place. “Cor! Thanks, Ms. Shirakage Mouse,” he replied as he helped himself to one of the rice balls.

Danger Mouse bumped his elbow cheekily at his American counterpart. “Ha! The Madam doesn’t seem so scary now, huh, Jeopardy. She just shared a bit of her lunch with Penfold.”

He then stood up from his spot on the settee and cleared his throat. “Shirakage, my Dear,” he addressed her kindly. “Why don’t you stop sulking about on your feet and come join us for an afternoon tea time? You do wish to become acquainted with your new flat mates and bodyguards, don’t you?”

The white tailed mouse turned to her new charmed bodyguard and stared wordlessly into his amber eye.

“Shirakage,” Jeopardy coaxed her warily. “Sit with us, and you can have some Diet Cola to make up for the tea on their table❤️” She ended her bribe in a sweet beaming tone.

“What...!?” DM interjected incredulously. “Jeopardy, what makes you so certain that your cousin can’t drink tea at all?”

She shrugged her hands upwards, gesturing an unknown answer as Shirakage reluctantly sat down next to her. “You got me. Shirakage may have been born Japanese. But my aunt and mom had raised her to be more Western in our family. And for reasons only known to her, she won’t even drink Green Tea from Asia.”

Danger Mouse and Penfold flabbergasted as Jeopardy tossed her foster cousin a can of caffeinated Diet Cola.

“Our honored flatmate...is a Tea Averter...?” DM asked, his voice still in shock. “My word, I feel absolutely sorry for you, my Dear Shirakage-San. To think that a beautiful Madam with an Asian descended background had been brought up by the American traditions of fast food and sweets.”

Shirakage gazed at the sympathetic British agent mouse with her stern sapphire eyes before glancing towards the side of the room. “Nature vs. Nurture, Danger Mouse-San. I do, however, drink caffeinated coffee in the morning. But it can’t be too hot or bitter without sugar and milk in it.”

As she took a sip from her cola can, Professor Squawkencluck suddenly appeared before the group of four and sat next to Shirakage, her specks glowing at her new Bestie.

“Can you believe it!!” She exclaimed gleefully. “ _The_ Professor Shirakage Mouse will be residing here at HQ...to work at King’s College as a Botany Researcher and a Chemical Synthesizer!!!”

The black haired white tailed mouse smiled lightly to them. “Professor Squawkencluck here had given me her sincere apology. Her private flat lacks the space it needs to house a guest, I’m afraid. Even Jeopardy Mouse desired me to bunk with her instead, as a first choice.”

That’s when the female chicken scientist narrowed her specks with a stern, warning glare, immediately causing DM and Penfold to stiffen fearfully on the settee.

 **“You guys _better_ treat Professor Shirakage nicely during her stay here,”** she demanded seriously while pointing her feathered finger at them. **“Make sure that the Loo is clean; don’t do anything to gross her out, or make her feel uncomfortable. Understand, Mouse...?!”**

The two male rodents gulped loudly and nodded in silence. Seconds later, Penfold turned to his new flatmate.

“Um...so, Professor Shirakage Mouse, when will you be starting your new job in London’s King’s College?”

“Tomorrow,” she replied bluntly after swallowing a bite of her white soft rice filled Inari bento dish. “It’s important that I get my belongings settled into my new living quarters as soon as possible before then.”

Danger Mouse grinned cheekily towards her. “My my. Looks like someone wishes to live the life of a busy bee. And I must add that you’re expressing the most docile behavior in which I’ve ever seen from a rare Japanese white tailed mouse.”

The females deadpanned at DM, then Shirakage glanced at Jeopardy. “You were right, Cous. My new host _is_ crushing on me,” she muttered audibly.

“Wha-!?” He spluttered a jaw dropping noise in a flustered manner. _“Excuse me,_ Madam! How can you possibly know that I fancy to court you into a serious relationship with me!?”

Shirakage Mouse shrugged her shoulders half heartedly. “I just know...once I saw you smile at me like that.”

“I beg your pardon...!” He frowned offensively. “I smile slyly at everyone, mind you!”

She shrugged again. “If you say so, Sir.” And took another bite of Inari.

“Shirakage isn’t wrong, Chief,” Penfold piped up to his scowling friend. “It has been a long while since you’ve had a lady friend in your life.”

“Penfold!” DM snapped fiercely in embarrassment. “Shush!!”

He returned his cross glare towards his new flat guest. “Now, look here, Shira-San. You will be residing here at the Headquarters of the British Secret Service!! I am the World’s Greatest Secret Agent, who has been assigned to watch you, on behalf of my American colleague’s wishes. So you shall treat _me_ , the host of our flat, with respect!!”

The unamused female white mouse pursed her lip in pondered expression, wondering if she should apologize to DM. But her gesture didn’t go unnoticed by him, and the anger grew on his face.

“OI!! YOU’RE NOT TAKING ME SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU!!? IS THIS SOME SORT OF TWISTED MIND GAME THAT YOU FANCY MUCKING ABOUT WITH PEOPLE!!?”

“Come on, Shirakage,” Jeopardy Mouse complained calmly to her. “Please don’t do this again. According to Penfold, Danger Mouse can get very pissed off easily sometimes. So apologize to him before he pops a blood vessel.”

Conceding towards her American yearling’s suggestion, Shirakage Mouse sighed deeply. Then she stood up and bowed her head before her enraged host. “Gomen na sai, Danger Mouse-San,” she said sincerely in her native tongue.

DM’s anger quelled immediately and he smirked coolly again. “There’s a good Chapess. I knew that all you needed was a bit of finesse from Jeopardy here.”

Shirakage sneered slightly and shifted her uncomfortable gaze to her cousin. “Am I done here? Can I put my cases in the guest room now?” She asked her quickly, a sardonic impatience laced in her tone.

“Oh! Can I help her with her bags, Jeopardy!!?” Prof. Squawkencluck begged the purple haired mouse like an excited child. “PLEASE~~~??”

She rolled her eyes to the side with a subtle sigh. “Sure, why not.”

Danger Mouse watched Shirakage and his boffin colleague carry her belongings up the stairs by the wall of the sitting room. Once the two women were out of sight, he turned his head to Penfold and Jeopardy Mouse.

“Well, your foster cousin _does_ possess a charming feisty side in her personality, Jeopardy.”

“I assume that I can place my trust in you to care for Shirakage, Danger Mouse?” She stated skeptically at him with a suspicious stare.

DM puffed away any worrying doubts with a confident smirk. “My word is my bond. She’ll enjoy our Guest room for a beautiful Saturday night sleep...”

**“HEY!!”** A loud angry shout from upstairs startled the three of them suddenly. **“WHY THE 🤬 IS MY GUEST ROOM’S BED ALL CHARRED UP FROM A FIRE!!!?”**

**“DANGER~~~ MOUSE~~~!!!”** Professor Squawkencluck bellowed angrily from the same direction as Shirakage’s displeased shout.

The Mouse Of Disaster grinned sheepishly as Penfold and Jeopardy Mouse glared at him disapprovingly.

“Oops...😅” he squeaked.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danger Mouse grunted as he moved Shirakage Mouse’s new mattress into the guest room. Colonel K had ordered him to feng shui the room, which involved using his strong arms in lifting the furniture.

By the time he had finished tidying up Shirakage’s sleeping quarters, DM panted heavily, collapsed on the floor’s new rug in a sitting position, and wiped a bead of sweat from his small brow. The mouse felt exhausted. He hadn’t worked so hard to death like this, since the Colonel ordered him to bodyguard Baron von Greenback, his daughter Delilah, and the Queen of Goldlandia.

“Are you feeling alright, Danger Mouse-San?”

Still panting tiredly, DM turned his head to see the calm, quiet and sad looking Japanese tailed white mouse, standing in the doorway. She stared to the side after his eye fell on her shy, solemn sapphire orbs. She was also holding out a small tray of orange juice in a drinking glass.

“I thought you’d want a refreshing drink after using your muscles so late in the evening for me,” she offered kindly as she joined him on the rug. “Here. Penfold told me that you...um, fancy the taste of orange juice.”

DM smiled and laughed in relief. “Thank you, Shira-San.” He was actually so thirsty that he gulped down his beverage a little too fast. As one of his gulps accidentally forced the liquid near the wrong tube in his throat, his face froze comically and he coughed out his lungs for air.

“Easy,” his flat guest said gently, while patting his back. As DM’s small coughing fit died away, Shirakage smiled at his teary face. “Wow. You must have been very thirsty, DM-San. I’m also really glad you agreed to set your Danger Flat’s laser guns to only invade your own bedroom every Saturday morning from now on.”

Danger Mouse blushed sheepishly. “Yes, well, if I hadn’t done that for all of the other agents who sleep here, then the Colonel would have eaten my badge for breakfast. And I’d be sacked for good.”

DM’s breath had evened itself out again after he finished his orange juice. However, the exercise that had given him a huge workout, also allowed fresh air to linger in his nasal cavities whenever he rested. His nose twitched erratically as Shirakage took away his empty glass from his paws. She placed it and the tray down on the floor to her right, and Danger Mouse buried his face into his left arm to smother a high toned sneeze.

**_“ChOO!!”_ **

“Bless you,” she said, turning back to him. But she blinked as the secret agent mouse hovered his hitching, gasping jaw above his raised arm.

**_“Gasp~~~!! Heh-heh-Ah’tiSSHHHOOO!!!”_ **

“Bless you,” Shirakage Mouse said again, more sympathetically this time, as DM rubbed a finger under his moist nostrils. “That was a nasty sneeze. Are you alright?”

He sniffed wetly and gave her a nervous smile. “So sorry. _Snf._ Post workout allergies, I’m afraid. _Snf._ But it isn’t that awful. Staying in shape just means I’m getting more oxygen into my muscle tissues and lungs. And I only sneeze for a few...” His reassured expression wilted, his eye losing focus due to a persistent itch in his nose again. “... _huh_...a few- _ **CHOOO!!”**_

Shirakage giggled. “Forgive me, Danger Mouse-San. But you sound a bit funny when you sneeze.”

Blushing from embarrassment, DM frowned displeasingly and glanced away. “I don’t see why you should find my sneezing fits very amusing, Madam Shirakage. _Snf.”_ He cleared his tickling throat, pushing back a fluttery feeling in his stomach. “Still, you seem more relaxed now than how you were this morning.”

Her smile bore another shy flush on her white mouse cheeks. “Yeah, I am.


	2. The 2 Sides of Shirakage Mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sardonic humor with her rodent friends during the day. Caring flatmate over a submissive DM at night. Shirakage Mouse is one weird foster cousin in Jeopardy Mouse's family. She even shares her Japanese food and sodas with Penfold from time to time. But how on Earth did she ever decide to call French Fries (or Chips) "Dried Potatoes", out of all that is AnimalKind Holy? Mattaku

**The Two Sides of Shirakage Mouse**

😔Opening this tale with a weary sigh isn’t something that I, Shirakage Mouse, would wish to begin another day in London. But that’s the price I have to pay, since I’m bunking at the Center of Britain’s Secret Service HQ. Not that I’m in any trouble with the law or anything. But maybe you’d try reliving your human soul’s life in the body of a rare Japanese tailed white mouse, where this world’s Planet Earth had now lost its human species to the Anthro Furry community.

Jeopardy Mouse, my foster cousin and niece to my American foster mother, had popped over to Danger HQ to help relieve a bit of anger I was feeling towards the host of the Danger flat. Apparently, Danger Mouse had accidentally set a section of Kings College’s building on fire...a particular section that held **my personal office!!**

If you would please mind, I’d rather not go into the details of that unfortunate mishap. All that I can do now is minimize my blue eyes into tiny dots of exasperation, as I watch both my cousin and DM go at each other through a verbal argument.

Penfold was sitting beside me and shared the same set of expression in his specks. Deadpanning silently together towards the two international mice agents was always a good exercise to help strengthen our friendship. Especially when I’d offer him a melon flavored Ramune soft drink bottle after shopping from London’s Japan Center store.

Only 3 words seemed to get through to our zoned out brains: “Fries”, “Chips”, and “Crisps”. Why on this wacko Earth’s universe would they be arguing about potatoes?

“-Shirakage,” DM’s voice addressed me suddenly. “I think you’ve had enough barbecue crisps for one day. If you eat anymore, you’ll ruin your lovely figure.”

I narrowed a sapphire glare at him. “Don’t you start bringing your arguments over here, Dude. I haven’t even begun to notice my body turning Pleasingly Plump yet.”

Nezu-Chan’s gaze darkened a bit more firmly. “And what rule did we make recently since my agency had ordered me to offer up the Danger Flat’s guest room for you?”

I pouted childishly while puckering my lips out in a teasing manner. “You’re no fun, Danger Mouse. I’d rather call you ‘Dude’ since there’s only one interpreted definition whenever I hear the word ‘Mate’. To my analytic perception, it holds an intimate meaning.”

A wry sneer formed on DM’s face and his eyebrow twitched in irritation. “Remind me again, Jeopardy: Where exactly in Japan did your Aunt and Uncle adopt Shirakage when she was an infant...?”

That sarcastic statement restarted their bickering once more. Still, Penfold and I decided to remain in the same room to converse amongst ourselves despite the noise.

“Hey, Penfold-San,” I said. “Do you think AnimalKind is ready to have its own Space Force? Cuz even though our Anthro Furry community was spread out, born and raised across the globe alongside the human race at the same time before Said human race died out...I don’t think that we should be limited to the spaces of land and governed countries in the same way. I mean, we’ve even changed the humans’ national statues for our own comfort and therapeutic reasons to move forward in life without them.”

Penfold’s megane specks stared skeptically at me as I concluded my philosophical thought. “Um, where on Earth do you come up with such noble and innocent proposals for modern day civilization, if your perception of the word ‘Mate’ is considered to be a love affair between two people?”

I expressed a lopsided smile at him. “You would’ve wanted to have a rebellious side towards this kid show too if you learned—during a Human Criminal & Extortion History class in College—that the extinct primates had once killed Asian Elephants for their skin, while their blood was also solidified into cubes and powder to create ruby colored prayer beads.”

Penfold spewed out a gulp of his melon flavored Ramune soda and coughed slightly from my grotesque history fact.

“Ugghh!!” A familiar male voice groaned in disgust before bellowing, “PENFOLD!!!!”

The hamster in deep crap grimaced sheepishly towards his British flatmate, whose white mouse ears and face was dripping with the sticky, sweet carbonated liquid.

“Um...sorry, Chief,” he apologized timidly. “I was just surprised over something Prof. Shirakage happened to say during our oddly polite chat.”

“Trust me,” I added assuringly. “You wouldn’t want to hear it, Nezu-chan.

“By the way,” I then turned the conversation towards my cousin. “Jeopardy, why _are_ you arguing about the names for chips and fries all of a sudden with DM? I thought you developed a slight case of Cibophobia towards potatoes several months ago. And _that_ was a time before I moved here and met your Baka of a secret agent colleague.”

JM’s brown furred face turned a slight shade of green as she rolled her eyes up with a weary sigh. “I didn’t have a choice, Shirakage. It’s part of this latest fanfic script given to us by the show’s writers.”

A giant sweat drop permeated visibly behind my black haired head. Oh, no! I feel like I’m about to experience an anime crack fanfic moment here in Nezu-Chan’s crazy universe. Usually, I’d let Professor Squawkencluck help settle down my aggravation towards the broken laws of physics during Danger Mouse’s weird missions whenever we’re together.

I let out a silent sigh and turned away from the mice’s quarrel to mull in my own thoughts again.

What I wouldn’t give to have my old human life and world handed back to me. If anime had existed in DM’s universe, I wouldn’t have to come up with false excuses at him over my wardrobe choices...like the time when the moronic mouse accused my red pajama set resembling too much like Sinister Mouse’s criminal jumpsuit.

He didn’t even care to notice that my long sleeved red kimono pajamas were lacking the red gloves and red boots which his Twistyverse twin always wore with his outfit. Just how dense was he!? It couldn’t be helped that I had to keep my knowledge of my real world’s anime series, Inuyasha a secret from him.

And never mind my 3 toed white mouse feet not helping my Inuyasha pajama set feel symbolic enough already; I miss having a middle finger to give rude gestures to people while growing up in this 2nd life of mine.

“D’AAAAUUGHH!!!!” Penfold suddenly screamed and huddled behind DM. “Chief!! Shirakage’s eating a cherry flavored ring pop!! And right after she scarred me for life with that horrid fact about Humans creating prayer breads out of elephant blood!!”

Jeopardy Mouse facepalmed towards my oblivious nature in forgetting an empathetic conversation after 3 minutes.

What? All I was doing was eating a cherry flavored ring pop, and imagining that the lives of humans were inside this Philosopher’s Stone on my finger. Can’t I subconsciously nerd out and think about a lifetime that was once in my grasp 30 years ago!? Can’t I have the right to behave like a Jajauma—a wild horse version of a young village girl who couldn’t be controlled by her elders!?

_“H **nx’t** -cheww!!”_ Danger Mouse suddenly sneezed, bringing my attention back to silly crack reality.

“Bless you,” we said to him automatically, JM’s frown never wilted from her face.

“Ugh...I’m sorry,” He rubbed the bottom of his nose with his finger.

I averted my eyes from Nezu-chan, where my expression revealed a mixture of halfhearted guilt and anxious love.

“Gomen na sai, Danger Mouse-San,” I apologized sincerely. “It’s my fault that you got soaked in melon soda. I shouldn’t have startled Penfold through a sensitive conversational topic in the first place.”

DM grinned coolly as I glanced back at him. “Ha! It will take more than a spilled drink on my head and clothes to make me ill.”

“Maybe we should hurry this story up to the end by asking Shirakage her opinion in your argument, Chief,” Penfold suggested warily. “It may, indeed, be an Old Wives’ Tale. But we wouldn’t want you to catch cold after getting wet.”

“I agree,” Jeopardy Mouse huffed bluntly. “Well, Shirakage... What would you call Barbecue potato chips in a snack bag: ‘Chips’ or ‘Crisps’? I don’t care if we skip our debate on French Fries.”

JM, DM and Penfold were staring at me eagerly, waiting to hear my answer.

“Hmm...” I raised my chin up slightly and had my mind go into a bored trance. Now, what did Inuyasha call those bag of potato chips that Kagome had brought back from her home in Japan’s Modern Era through her family’s shrine’s ancient well which connected to Japan’s Feudal Era...?🤔

My face lit up as the memory came back to me, and I smacked my fist into my paw’s palm. “Oh! I know!”😮

“Well!?” The three rodents asked with anticipation.

I beamed a silly smile. “Dried Potatoes!! I wanna call em ‘Dried Potatoes’❤️😊!!”

“WHAAAAA~~~!!?” They may have flabbergasted at my answer. But I really wished that they would’ve fallen over in 90’s anime style humor.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Several hours later after Jeopardy Mouse flew back to New York, it was just me and the dynamic duo of the Secret Service. Penfold was doing the washing up in the kitchen; DM was reading his monthly magazine subscription of “Spy Wars” on the sitting room’s couch; and I was sitting next to him while watching the Evening News on the Big Telly with the volume turned down.

As the two of us sat quietly together, an odd butterfly fluttering feeling caused me to glance to my left. Through his peripheral vision’s right side, DM glanced his amber eye to me suddenly. I froze as our gazes met. I swear, if I start blushing...

But DM just smiled warmly...until his eye lost focus. _“Heh...!!”_ He turned away from me, raising his left elbow and arm up to his face. _“Hh **’ngg** ktch! Hih **’gnxt!”**_

I blushed slightly from his stifled sneezes. “Bless you, DM-San.”

He sniffed several times to try to relieve the mysterious itching, letting out small moans of discomfort on his lips.

“Nezu-chan,” I asked him finally after a few minutes went by. “Are you feeling all right?”

_“Snf. Snfle._ Y-Yes, Ms. Shirakage. Sorry for the noise. _Snf._ I thig I mbight ndeed a tissue. Ebah since I showered off the mbelon soda, sombethidg has beend bothering mby ndose.”

My face clouded with a bit of concern towards my Dear flatmate. “You don’t have allergies, do you? I’ve only seen you sneeze when you feng shui‘ed my guest room for me several days ago. You called them, ‘Post Workout allergies’, am I right?”

DM pulled the collar of his white jumpsuit to his snout. “Dust mbight becombe a bothersombe allergy to mbe whedebah I catch a head cold. It would also have to accumulate id a large area, like a stuffy, old mbanor... _guh sniff.”_

My face softened as his sniffling and voice grew more congested. What if he actually _did_ catch a cold?

I watched his jumpsuit’s collar slide off his face. DM frowned and raised his wrist against the tip of his snout, trying to keep his nose isolated from whatever was penetrating his sinuses. My concern for the handsome British mouse grew when his eye watered constantly; a glossy film of moisture was also a sign of illness.

“Here, Nezu-chan.” I leaned closer to him and took out a travel sized pack of tissues from my pocket. “Use this. Wipe or blow your nose if it will help you feel a bit better.”

He gave me a sympathetic look and took it from my hands. “Thank you very mbuch, Ms. Shirakage...” He quickly turned away and touched his quivering snout into the soft tissue. _“He **kx’nt** -ah!”_

“Bless you, Danger Mouse-San,” I said gently. “I think you might be coming down with something.” I then touched his forehead with my white mouse paw. My brow furrowed again as DM hummed tiredly, closed his glassy eye and leaned into my paw.

“Sh-Shira-Sadn,” he murmured contently. “Ohh, that’s nice.... Feels cool and relaxing....”

I scratched the two triangular hairs on his head and sighed. “That’s because you’ve caught a fever, you Baka.” Aw, Damn. Why was I beginning to worry about him this much?

Danger Mouse grunted tiredly and slowly sat up to look at me. Or, the very least, tried to keep his vision focused through a foggy daze. “I thig you mbight be right about mbe catching ad undlucky cold, _snf._ My ndose is all clogged up.”

“Guess this means I’ll have to tell Penfold to make Parmesan spaghetti for two people instead of three tonight,” I suggested with a guilty face. “If you eat any cheese for dinner with a head full of mucus, Nezu-kun, you might get worse by developing a terrible chest cold.”

DM shook his head with a weak smile. “That’s just fine, Shirakage. I wouldn’t mind eating tomato soup with herbal tea before bed anyway.” He then began to involuntarily shiver and hug himself for warmth.

“I’ll go and fetch your extra quilt from your bedroom’s closet,” I offered while getting up off the couch. “After you’re all bundled up, I’ll help Penfold in the kitchen and inform him the slight change of dinner plans. Is there any kind of flavoring that you’d want me to add to your tea?”

DM’s breath hitched, yet he tried to keep his face steady as he answered. “H-Honey.... _Heh’kshuu!!”_

“Bless you,” I grinned mildly. “Will you be okay waiting here for a while? I’ll set the small table by the sitting room’s large windows if you wish to eat there.”

“That’s very kind of you,” he muttered weakly and stifled a small cough. “Oh, err... my head hurts....”

I stared at him with empathetic gentleness. “Oh, you wanna lie down that badly, huh.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he sniffed in dismay. “I’ll do my best to not pass out, Madam.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It’s not every night that I see the sidekick of Britain’s greatest secret agent act like a strict Mother Hen towards his best friend and flat guest. Once Penfold had set DM’s soup and tea on the small table by the sitting room’s window, he gave us the fierce order not to dine together.

I had to eat with the surprisingly stern hamster at the kitchenette’s table, while DM sat by himself...viewing the evening hour lights of London. However, I did manage to glance at DM one more time before joining his best friend.

Did I see a hint of loneliness in his eye...?

My back was facing Danger Mouse as I ate my Parmesan spaghetti. And two minutes into our quiet meal, my mouse ears heard DM’s breath catch in trembling anticipation. His nose must be troubling him a great deal tonight.

Then I heard his short breaths skipping about more sharply than before. It was a hypnotizing sound to hear.

_“HH’tchh’ischh!”_ A half formed spluttering sneeze erupted from across the room behind me. The clattering of his spoon also followed, dropping onto his table. But silence failed to reclaim the area, as a much more powerful sneeze rocked DM’s furniture.

 _“Ah... heIH’TSSCHOO!”_ I heard my poor flatmate gasp, causing me to turn around and see Nezu-chan flinching his face downwards into a clean napkin. _“HH-RSSCHOO! Ah... hh’ssSCHOO! Hh- HH’TSSHOO! Hh-hhh...HH! HHRSSCHUH!”_

Sheer breathlessness forcing a pause, Danger Mouse cautiously straightened up, rubbing at his still unsettled nose through the cloth. Even as he struggled to normalize his breathing, nostrils refusing to be still, he became aware of my shimmering blue eyes watching him. A brightening shade of red flushed over his fevered cheeks, and he politely hid an embarrassed smile behind his snot covered napkin.

_“Snf._ M-My apologies, Madam. _Snf._ Do excuse mbe, please.”

I gave him a tender smile with a small shake of my head. “That’s alright, Danger Mouse-San. You don’t have to be ashamed for sneezing so loudly from a cold. The noise isn’t bothering me in the slightest. And bless you.”

His blush darkened a bit from my kind response. Despite feeling his conduct behaving most unbecoming towards me, he eventually replied back through a curt nod of acknowledgement.

I smiled cutely when I saw another sneeze forming behind Nezu-kun’s grimacing face. And knowing that he would rather restrain himself from sneezing under the eyes of a lady than sneeze in front of a pretty friend, I turned my head back towards my meal.

_“HR’SHSCHUH! -ah... huh... HR’RSCHHOO!!”_ The sound of DM blowing his nose made my heart settle down from an unusual skip in its beat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As the rest of HQ’s residents slept soundly through the night, I found out that finding my own need for sleep was going to be long and hard. My half tired eyes kept staring down into the sheets of my bed; my large mouse ears honing every bit of its attention onto the murmured moaning from next door.

How could I sleep at all when I know Danger Mouse’s high fever was bringing him discomfort in his _own_ sleep? There’s no way that someone like me can leave him alone in that state. Nezu-chan was so dizzy after dinner that I had to blindfold myself while keeping him steady as he changed into his pajamas.

Before I could register that my body was moving on its own by a sudden and strong impulse, my ears and half awake vision followed the sound of deep coughing and labored breathing.

Not caring that I was intruding onto the privacy of my sick host’s bedroom, I climbed into the unfamiliar bed while feeling the sweaty warmth of its owner.

_“Ehhhh...”_ The male mouse’s breath inhaled with soft shaking before picking up speed. _“Hehh-hah! Hehhhh’yestchuuu! Ig’tschuu!”_

Danger Mouse’s sneezes sounded quite high pitched and ticklish in the middle, even through his congestion. And for some reason, being near him like this was helping me feel more drowsy for sleep.

_“Hh’gtshhhchuh!”_ His head jerked upwards again from a third disorienting loud sneeze. After a few more sniffles and another mesmerizing _“Hhhh... ek’shuhhh!”_... into the open air, DM murmured softly and turned over on his left side.

I cuddled up to his shirtless white furry chest and felt him unconsciously embrace me into a snuggling hug.

“Bless you, Nezu-kun,” I whispered gently under my breath. “Please get well really soon, Love.”

I felt his white paw entwine its fingers into my own, his touch being quite gentle as well. And I heard him murmur one name in my ear:

“Shira-San.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A part humor and part romance fanfiction. Humor between Danger Mouse, Jeopardy Mouse, Penfold and Shirakage Mouse; romance between Danger Mouse and Shirakage Mouse. I thank the crazy news for educating me on the reality of the world I live, which helped bring the sardonic side of me out for laughs.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone spots any references from a scene [or line] from an episode during the Big Bang Theory’s first season, and the first episode of Jackie Chan Adventures, say “Aye”.


End file.
